Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry is a midsize car manufactured by Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky, USA; as well as Australia; and Japan. Since 2001 it has been the top selling car in the United States.

The United States is the Camry's largest consumer market, where it mainly competes with the Honda Accord and the Nissan Altima. The Camry also sells very well in Australia and a number of Asian markets. It has not sold as well in Europe and Japan - many critize its design as ill-suited for European and Japanese tastes. In Japan and Asia, its main rivals are the Nissan Teana and the Honda Accord.

An upbranded luxury version of the Camry is sold under the Lexus ES nameplate in the United States also known as the Windom in Japan.

The Camry name was first launched in 1980 with the Toyota Celica Camry. The first model line independently named the Toyota Camry was launched in 1982 for the 1983 model year. It is primarily configured as a four-door sedan but at different times has also been available as a five-door hatchback, two-door coupe, and a station wagon. An offshoot of the Camry, the Camry Solara, has been available as a coupe and a convertible.

The Camry underwent major redesigns and upgrades in model years 1987, 1992 (1990 in Japan), 1997, 2002 and an anticipated redesign is planned to be launched in 2006 for model year 2007 in the United States.

Other than the original Celica Camry, the Toyota Camry has always been an FF layout vehicle. This means the engine is transversely mounted to drive the front wheels. Some models have been offered with all wheel drive.

The second and third-generation Camrys were rebadged to be sold as the Holden Apollo in Australia. The Holden equivalents were not successful even though they came from the same factory as the Camry. Since 2000, Daihatsu has sold a Camry twin named the Altis.

The name comes from the English phonetic of the Japanese word "kan-muri," which means "crown."

Market

The Camry is consistently ranked as one of the most popular vehicles in the North American market. It is Toyota's bread-and-butter vehicle, so its marketing and sales strategy is cautious, aimed squarely at the center of buyer demographics; as most Camry buyers are not car enthusiasts.